Siphon.



No. 636,6!0. Patented Nov. 7, I899.- S. H. ADAMS.

SIP H 0 N (Application filed Apr. 24, 1899.)

(N o M 0 del liven?- 50nd H 444,

SAMUEL HENRY ADAMS, OF HARROGATE, ENGLAND.

SIPHON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,610, dated November7, 1899.

Application filed April 24, 1899- To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL HENRY ADAMs, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at Oumbrae, Park avenue, Harrogate, in thecounty of York, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in or Relating to Siphons, of which the followingis aspecification.

This invention relates to siphons of the kind or class having a deeptrap in the outgo-leg; and the said invention has for its chief objectthe provision of automatic means for starting siphonic action after asuitable interval, which may be regulated. For this purpose I arrange avent-pipe in the siphon, in some cases with and in others without aliquid seal in said pipe, and I control the release of the air from thesiphon, and consequently the starting of. siphonic action, by the riseof liquid around the siphon or in a separate vessel, or by the dischargeof the liquid contents of another vessel into which the vent-pipe dips,or by increasing the pressure of the air at the proper time, so as toforce the liquid seal in the vent-pipe when such a seal is used.

My invention is especially useful in siphons for charging anddischarging filter-beds, as they permit of a filter-bed remaining fullycharged for a length of time, at the expiration of which it isautomatically discharged.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated in vertical centralsection various modifications showing how my invention may be carriedinto efiect.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

Referring to Figure 1, A is the inner vertical leg of the siphon, havinga deep bend near the outgo end forming a trap or seal. 13 is the outerpart or dome of the siphon, and C is a vent-pipe for releasing at theproper time the air, which after each discharge becomes locked in thesiphon in the space between the seal in the outgo-leg and the liquidsurrounding the siphon. The vent-pipe extends in the inner leg down toabout the level of the outgo, so as not to interfere with the siphonicaction when started. Surrounding the dome B is another done or bell D,closed at the top and open at the bottom. d is a vent-pipe for SerialNo. 714,307. (No model.)

liberating the air from this bell, and d is a tap in said pipecontrolled by a float d connected to the arm of said tap. o is a tap inthe vent-pipe (Land 0 is a float connected to the arm of said tap forcontrolling it. The arm of the float o hangs vertically downward or isinclined backward slightly, so that the float will not open the tap butit is furnished with a trigger or secondary arm 0 adapted to be actuatedby a rod e, which extends through a guide-tube e within the bell D andis furnished with a float e at its inner end. The tube 6 extendsdownward nearly to the mouth of the bell D to prevent escape of air fromsaid bell, and the rod e is curved upward at its lower end, as shown, tobring the float well within the bell. The action is as follows: As thelevel of liquid around the siphon rises it first seals the mouth of thebell D and then continues to rise until it reaches and raises the floatd thus opening the tap d and allowing the air locked in the bell toescape gradually therefrom and the liquid to rise in the bell. The floate is thereby raised and operates through the rod 6 to push the trigger aand so move the float past its dead center, whereupon the buoyancy ofthe float operates to open the tap 0, thus releasing the locked air fromthe interior of the siphon and causing siphonic action immediately tocommence. After the discharge the several floats fall to their initialpositions. The rate at which air can escape from the tap d determinesthe length of time the siphonic action is delayed. In addition to thetap d I sometimes provide another tap d to control the escape of airfrom the bell D. This tap may be initially set to give any desiredopening.

The bell D need not surround the dome of the siphon. It maybe separate,as shown in Fig. 2, and the vent-pipe 0 may pass out from the side ofthe leg A, also as shown in Fig. 2. The action of this arrangement isprecisely the same as that of Fig. 1.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 3 the release of the locked airin the siphon is controlled by the rate of admission of liquid to a tankF, in which the float of the tap a hangs. When the liquid around thesiphon rises to the level of the tank F, it begins to enter said tankthrough a tap f, the extent of openin g of which is initially set tosuit the requirements. I have shown the float c hanging vertically downor setback a little, so that it cannot by its own buoyancy open the tap,a second float 0 being provided to start the tap and bring the float 0past the dead-center.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4:, which represents an ordinarybent-tube siphon having a deep bend forming a seal in the outgoleg, theventpipe 0, which may pass out through the crown, as shown, or throughthe side of the siphon, as shown in Fig. 2, instead of having a tap init is made to dip into a vessel E, containing liquid which seals thepipe and prevents the escape of air so long as the seal remains intact.\Vhen the contents of the vessel E, in which the vent-pipe dips, aredischarged, so as to unseal the pipe, the locked air escapes from thesiphon, and siphonic action then commences. I prefer to provide thevent-pipe with an enlargement C at the end to insure the locking of asufficiency of air in the siphon when the liquid rises again in thesealing-tank and closes the end of the vent-pipe. This arrangement maybe advantageously employed with a series of filter tanks or beds, forexample, which require to be discharged successively. In Fig. 5 I haveshown four such tanks E E E E with a discharging-siphon in each. Theventpipe C from No. 1 siphon enters the tank E that from No. 2 siphonenters the tank E that from No. 3 siphon enters the tank E and that fromNo. 4 siphon enters the tank E. IVith such an arrangement the dischargeof the tank IE will operate to start No. a siphon, and the discharge ofthe tank IE will start No. 3 siphon, and so on successively. It isobvious, of course, that a similar arrangement of siphons for fillingthe tanks successively may be employed, the starting of each siphonbeing governed by the discharge of one of the other tanks.

Fig. (5 illustrates a further modification, in which the vent-pipe O isopen at the top and has a bend at its lower end to form a liquid sealfor closing the vent. This seal is forced by means of additional airadded under pressure. For this purpose a bell P, suspended in a separatetank P, communicates with the dome B of the siphon by a pipe in which isa cock p, controlled by a float p \Vhen liquid rises around the bell P,it compresses the air therein; but this pressure is not comlnunicated tothe dome 13 until the liquid rises high enough in the tank P to raisethe float p and open the cock 1), whereupon the compressed air passesinto the siphon and forces the seal in the vent-pipe 0, thus releasingthe locked air in the siphon and starting siphonic action. In someinstances the cock 1) is dispensed with, and in such cases the pressurein the dome due to the rise of level in the tank P increases graduallyuntil the seal in the vent-pipe is forced. The head of liquid in thetank P must be higher than in the tank in which the siphon is situatedand must be sufflcient to force the seal in the vent-pipe, as abovedescribed.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modification forming, as it were, a combinationof the arrangements shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The chamber D, carrying thetube 6, with its rod 6 and float 6 is attached to the dome B of thesiphon; but it might be separate, as indicated in Fig. 2. Q is a chamberopen at the bottom and corresponding to the vessel P in Fig. 6. It isset deeper in the tank than the dome B and communicates with the saiddome by a pipe q, in which is ata r for closing and opening the passage.he rod e is connected to the arm 1* of the tap 1" and controls the tap.\Vhen the float (Z is raised by the liquid in the tank and the tap 61thereby opened to release the air in the vessel D, the liquid then risesin the vessel D and raises the float 6 thus opening the tap r andallowing the more highly-compressed air in the vessel Q to enter thedome of the siphon and so force or blow through the seal in thevent-pipe C, thereby starting siphonic action.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a tank or receptacle, of asiphon having a trap in the outgoleg, a vent-pipe passing from theinterior of the siphon into the outer atmosphere, means for closing saidpipe, automatically-acting means for opening the passage through thepipe, and means for delaying the opening of said passage for any desiredlength of time after the head of liquid would otherwise be sufficient todischarge the siphon, substantially as described, and for the purposespecifled.

2. The combination with a tank or receptacle, of a siphon having a trapin the outgoleg, a vent-pipe passing from the interior of the siphoninto the outer atmosphere, means controlled by the rise and fall of theliquid for opening and closing said pipe, and means for delaying theopening for any desired length of time after the head of liquid wouldotherwise be sufflcient to discharge the siphon, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination with a tank or receptacle, of a siphon having a trapin the outgoleg, a vent-pipe passing from the interior of the siphoninto the outer atmosphere, a cock for closing the said pipe, meanscontrolled by the rise of liquid in a separate vessel for opening thecock, and means for delaying the opening for any desired length of timeafter the tank is full, substantially as described, and for the purposespecified.

t. The combination with a tank or receptacle, of a siphon having a trapin the outgoleg, a vent-pipe passing from the interior of the siphoninto the outer atmosphere, a cock for closing said pipe, a float forcontrolling said cock, means controlled by the rise of liquid in aseparate vessel for moving said float into a position where its buoyancycan operate to open the cock, and means for delaying the opening of thecock for any desired length of time after the tank is full,substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination, with a siphon having a trap in the outgo-leg, of avent-pipe passing from the interior of the siphon into the outeratmosphere, a cock for closing said pipe, a float for controlling saidcook, a bell containing a float for governing the aforesaid float so asto move it into a position where its buoyancy can act to open the cock,and a balltap for controlling the egress of air from the bell and theconsequent admission of liquid thereinto, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a siphon A, B having a trap in the outgo-leg,of a vent-pipe SAMUEL HENRY ADAMS. Witnesses:

CHARLES DOWNEY, GEORGE WILLIAM CURRY.

